Summary
Satellite images suggest China is developing a massive nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, potentially matching the size and capabilities of U.S. supercarriers, analysts told NBC News.
The ship, possibly the Type 004, appears to feature four electromagnetic catapults for launching fighter jets, a design shift from China’s current fleet.
Experts say this move aligns with China’s goal of building a “blue-water navy” to rival the U.S.
While Beijing has not confirmed the project, U.S. officials view China’s military expansion as a strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific.
To be fair, I assumed 30 aircraft on the Wasp and America class ships. 20 is a more realistic number, so my estimate was high. I don’t know why I had it in my head that they could carry 30 aircraft each, but that was the basis of my claim. I was also under the impression that that 003 was another STOBAR carrier, rather than a CATOBAR.
Still, 9 US ships times 20 STOVL aircraft:
001, 002, and 003 are reported to carry 24 STOBAR, 24 STOBAR, and 50 CATOBAR aircraft, respectively:
My claim of “more than twice as many” was wrong, but by single-digit margins.
Their Type 075 and 076 ships are described as “Helicopter Docks”. To the best of my knowledge, China doesn’t currently have any STOVL aircraft to operate off these ships. They are developing a STOVL aircraft, the J-35, which would almost certainly be able to operate off 075/076, but it’s not operational yet. I’m disinclined to count the four operational 075s, and the 076 they are building.
The US Navy has 13 “Landing Platform, Docks” (San Antonio Class) that I’m not counting, because they only carry helicopters (up to 78 total) or tiltrotors (up to 65 total). They did do some evaluations on using them with the Harrier, but I dont think that went anywhere.
Pretty much every large ship in both navies can embark a couple helicopters; I’m not counting any of them either.